This bumper with speaker for siren relates to law enforcement equipment and more specifically to a push bumper upright including a sized and oriented speaker combined with the upright for projecting a siren sound to a vehicle ahead of a law enforcement vehicle.
Vehicles of law enforcement, particularly police cars, take officers to the vicinity of violators of laws. Generally, 60,000 police cars along with 15,000 police push bumpers are sold annually within the U.S. Police cars indicate the presence of an officer to a violator or to request the right of way from the vehicles of the motoring public, using visual and auditory means. The visual means, generally flashing or blinking lights, attracts the attention of a vehicle driver and also warns surrounding vehicles. The auditory means, generally a siren, a wail, or a yelp, of high pitch and volume, grabs the attention of a driver who is suspected of violating a law or to request the right of way.
The siren cuts through vehicle and road noise surrounding the driver and noise from radios, passengers, and cellular telephones enveloping the driver. The visual means are generally installed upon the roof of a law enforcement vehicle with some models of lights also installing within the front grill, front windshield or rear windshield of a vehicle. The auditory means, sirens, are installed in front grills and in the vicinity of front bumpers on law enforcement vehicles.
With the incentive for greater fuel efficiency in passenger cars and light trucks, new vehicles have tighter door and window seals for lesser aerodynamic resistance during driving. The tighter seals lead to a quieter ride for the passengers which increases the difficulty of exterior sounds entering the cabin. Occupants and drivers of newer vehicles have a more difficult time hearing the siren of a police car or other emergency vehicle.
Sounds are generated by speakers, generally electrically powered. Various manufacturers make drivers that move the diaphragm of a speaker, including sirens. The driver generally activates an electromagnet rapidly that moves the diaphragm inwardly and outwardly within a speaker housing to create sound of a certain frequency and volume. During periods of long and high usage of a siren, the speaker moves rapidly and outputs many watts of sound. The work in creating that sound heats the driver. A warm driver can transfer that heat to a diaphragm and alter the sound quality adversely.